Fact-verifying event during the inaugural night of the Democratic National Convention
Here's a list of fact-checks from CNN's Facts First team. We will update this list throughout the night.
Garcia's deceptive statement about Trump's Covid-19 remarks and disinfectants
Democratic Rep. Robert Garcia of California claimed, among other things, that former President Donald Trump "suggested injecting bleach into our bodies," while criticizing Trump's handling of the Covid-19 crisis.
The Facts: Garcia's statement is misleading. Trump never proposed his 2020 speculations about using disinfectants to treat Covid-19 as advice to the public. Instead, Trump was discussing the possibility of scientists investigating the use of disinfectants as a potential treatment.
During an April 2020 press briefing, Trump expressed curiosity about scientists exploring the possibility of whether Covid-19 could be treated with disinfectants inside people's bodies, either through "injection inside" or "almost a cleaning," or by utilizing powerful light within the body. Trump's comments were harshly criticized by medical experts as hazardous, and prompted urgent warnings from public health authorities and companies selling household disinfectants. However, Trump never advocated for citizens to utilize such products.
Trump made his uninformed comments after Bill Bryan, the acting undersecretary of science and technology for the Department of Homeland Security, discussed tests revealing that sunlight or disinfectants like bleach and isopropyl alcohol rapidly killed the coronavirus on surfaces and in saliva.
A short time later, Trump proposed the dangerous idea of injecting disinfectants within people's bodies. He was discussing experts potentially investigating that idea. He stated, "And is there a way we can do something like that, by injection inside, or almost a cleaning, because you see it gets in the lungs and it does a tremendous number on the lungs, so it'd be interesting to check that out. So we'll see."
From CNN's Daniel Dale
Durbin's misleading statistics on Trump's job record
Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois, the Senate Majority Whip, stated of former President Donald Trump: "He lost millions of jobs in America." Durbin followed this up by saying, "He is one of only two presidents in the history of the United States to leave office with fewer Americans working than when he started."
The Facts: Durbin's statistics are accurate, but he omitted crucial background information on them. Although there was a net loss of around 2.7 million jobs from the beginning of Trump's four-year term to its conclusion, there was a net gain of roughly 6.7 million jobs under Trump until the Covid-19 pandemic hit the country approximately three years into his term.
More than 22 million jobs were lost under Trump in March 2020 and April 2020 when the global economy experienced a severe downturn due to the pandemic. The US then began regaining jobs immediately, adding over 12 million from May 2020 to December 2020, but not enough to make up for the substantial early-pandemic losses.
From CNN's Daniel Dale
Beatty's claim about the Biden administration's increase of the child tax credit
Ohio Rep. Joyce Beatty praised the Biden administration's efforts to enhance larger tax credits for families and help lift more children out of poverty.
"Joe and Kamala have been expanding the child tax credit, and let me just tell you ... reducing the poverty rate for our children," she said.
The Facts: Beatty's claim necessitates explanation. It's valid that the expanded child tax credit passed early in the Biden administration reduced the child poverty rate in 2021, but the advantage only lasted for the one year the temporary improvement was in place. Child poverty increased in 2022 to a rate comparable to where it was in 2019.
The American Rescue Plan Act, which Democrats passed through Congress in March 2021, increased the size of the child tax credit to up to $3,600 – from $2,000 – for qualifying families, enabled many more low-income parents to claim it, and distributed half of it on a monthly basis.
This assisted in reducing child poverty – as measured by the Supplemental Poverty Measure – to a record low 5.2% in 2021, a drop of 46% from 2020, when the rate was 9.7% according to the US Census Bureau. The child tax credit helped lift 2.9 million children out of poverty in 2021, with the temporary enhancement accounting for 2.1 million of those children, according to the Census Bureau.
The Supplemental Poverty Measure, which began in 2009, takes into account certain non-cash government assistance, tax credits, and required expenses.
However, in 2022, child poverty soared to 12.4%, roughly equivalent to where it was prior to the pandemic in 2019. It was the largest increase in child poverty since the Supplemental Poverty Measure began.
Earlier this year, the House passed a tax bill that would once again expand the child tax credit temporarily, although the enhancement would not be as generous as it was in 2021. Senate Republicans blocked it from progressing in their chamber earlier this month.
From CNN's Tami Luhby
Harris campaign video that omits context on Trump's economic statements
In a prerecorded video from Vice President Kamala Harris’ campaign team, a staffer shared claims former President Donald Trump has made about the economy with the intent of debunking them.
"Let's check out his pre-Covid job performance, compared to the Biden-Harris administration. Surprise, surprise, not the most impressive results," said the aide, showing a screen with the average monthly job growth figures under Trump from January 2017 to February 2020, contrasted with the entire Biden-Harris administration's numbers.
"And about his manufacturing miracles he promised, talk's cheap, but results are scarce. Trump actually saw a loss of 178,000 manufacturing jobs. And I'm not pointing fingers at Covid here, no siree. Manufacturing jobs were already on a downtrend before the pandemic hit."
The Facts Straight: The figures the campaign staffer provided are correct, but they need a tad of extra context. It's not right to compare the monthly job growth numbers Trump managed up until early 2020 with those under the Biden-Harris administration. Their numbers got a boost from some fantastic job reports as the economy started to bounce back post-pandemic. For instance, in July 2021, a whopping 939,000 jobs were added in a single month.
And yes, 178,000 manufacturing jobs were indeed lost during Trump's reign. But Covid-19 was a significant player. In the days leading up to the pandemic, manufacturing jobs were falling, albeit only slightly. From November 2019 to February 2020, a measly 36,000 manufacturing jobs were actually lost. Look at that, a far cry from the nearly 1.4 million manufacturing jobs that disappeared between February 2020 and April 2020. Remarkably, a significant portion of those losses were recovered before Trump left office.*
From CNN's Elisabeth Buchwald
The discussion around politics in the context of Covid-19 also extended to former President Trump's remarks during an April 2020 press briefing. Trump expressed curiosity about scientists exploring the possibility of treating Covid-19 with disinfectants inside people's bodies, either through injection or by utilizing powerful light.
Despite some misunderstandings, it's crucial to clarify that Trump never proposed these methods as advice for the public. Instead, he was expressing curiosity about potential scientific investigations. His comments were met with harsh criticism from medical experts and prompted warnings due to their hazardous nature.
